Women Alive

Needing to hear from God? Seeking life, career, relationship direction? Simple. Fast and pray. Get alone, take a day away from the busyness of life and allow your physical hunger to fuel a spiritual hunger for God. Alone time with God, meditation on Scripture, and the sacrifice of food is the key to hearing from God and feeling a strong sense of the Lord’s presence.

Or so I thought for many years.

Reality hit when I embarked on the ultimate test of my theory: a 40-day fast. My life was about to be revolutionized. God was going to speak to me. Earthquake, burning bush or gentle breeze I couldn’t be sure, but I was sure, it would be powerful. Life-changing. I would never be the same.

To my great surprise, the first three days passed with no fireworks, lightning bolts or even a gentle whisper. When a full week passed with no profound insights or words from above, I began to realize that God was doing something rather unexpected in my life. A full 40 days of fasting and prayer later, there was still not a single revelation.

I had assumed that if a person earnestly prayed with the right state of heart and mind before God, the Lord would speak to her. Why had I not heard from the Lord in 40 days?

Is too simple to say that only sin prevents us from hearing God’s voice? The association with God’s silence and wickedness is rooted in ancient Scripture. The wicked are put to silence (i.e., 1 Sam 2:9) and the enemies of Israel are silenced (often referred to as cut off, destroyed, laid to waste). There is even a connection between silence and death.

In ancient Israel, times of God’s wrath and divine punishment are marked by God’s silence. It is a dark time when there is no prophecy or vision in the land.
“Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done.”  (Micah 3:4)

It is a severe time when the people are punished by the silence of God.

Then, there is a different kind of silence.

The silence of God can be a force that withholds punishment, that draws humanity to its Maker. It is the manifestation of God’s patient endurance with us, the manifestation of God’s love.

When we pray and there is no answer, we must pray again and for a longer time, with a deeper sense of intercession. When the presence of God feels distant, we must draw ever nearer, spend ever more time seeking Whom we long for.

In silence is much revelation. Our hearts are revealed. Our motives are made plain. Our deepest desires become clear. God knows them already, of course. But they become plain to us. When God replies to our prayers with silence, we spend more time thinking about our petition. What is it that we truly want? Is what we seek really God’s desire for our lives?

So, then, God’s silence is a powerful response to our prayers. First, it teaches us patience, challenging us not to give up, but to keep praying, keep pursuing God’s presence. Second, the silence of God is revealing, causing us to re-examine ourselves, our motives, our desires.

Finally, the silence of God challenges us to trust God. When God is silent, we must trust the timing of the Lord. We must trust that God will act in perfect time and until then, we must act in complete humility and submission, and we must remain faithfully obedient.

Let us join with the Psalmist and say:
Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
My hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.   (Ps 62:5-6)

Are you waiting for God to answer? Sometimes, God’s silence is the answer.